Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Normal People, by Sally Rooney

63 reviews

samjesperw's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Drug use, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Emotional abuse

anton13's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I was so sad to have to put it down. I have to say that I was in the beginning very skeptical about if I’d like it or not. Part of me didn’t even wanna read it. Now I’m glad I read it. It’s not my favorite cause of the heaviness of the story but it is well written and I enjoyed the relationship between the two mc’s. I do think that anyone that wants to read this should do an extensive look on trigger warnings cause this was so much more than I had expected from what I’ve heard from others. The end killed me. I can’t believe everything that happened within the last 50 pages. I’m happy for them both but also nooooo why did it have to end like that?! Connell is one of the best men out there and nothing can change my mind!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Body shaming, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Suicide, Classism, Self harm, Sexual content, Injury/injury detail, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, and Blood

Minor: Antisemitism, Drug use, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Body horror, Excrement, and Eating disorder

klor's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i've always loved the intimacy of people that just weave in and out of each others lives, sprinkled with some of their own issues and histories. rven though not a lot happens in the book, it's not hard to believe that their story is going to keep moving forward. i thought this was an honest depiction of growing pains and mental illness and miscommunications

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

bookishlittleme's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was one of those books where I read it at just the right time. I picked it up at the library on a whim and everything! I really like the way that it made me think about the world, how we socialize, how we love. I found the two main characters, Marianne and Connell extremely true to life with distinct thoughts and voices. 
I have heard a lot of comments about Sally Rooney's writing being hard to read because she does not use quotations to help the reader recognize dialogue. Personally, I fell in love with her writing style as soon as I picked up the book. As for the dialogue it's definitely more feeling than reading a quotation mark that lets you know when someone is speaking. This is a very sad book but I think if you're drawn to it you should read it. Check the content warnings though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Misogyny

Minor: Abortion

bridietmc24's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Rape, and Alcoholism

Minor: Eating disorder and Abortion

selimhannah's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Classism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Grief, Infidelity, and Injury/injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Suicide, Abortion, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, and Vomit

anewton's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was a beautifully sad book, that dives into the complex nature of relationships over time, alongside character development and trauma. It explores ‘love’, what that means and what it looks like in different forms and relationships. The ending, though fitting for the story, was disappointing, leaving things open-ended and unsatisfactory. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Sexual content

Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Vomit

kathis_wonderland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Normal People by Sally Rooney is an award-winning book. Connell and Marianne have known each other for ages. They went to school together and started seeing each other in secret. Over the years they fall in and out of their relationship and friendship, meet new people and experience new aspects of life. But in the end, they find their way back to each other.

One thing I am now certain of is that I am usually very unsure about books that won awards. I often do get why this book won awards and is so loved by many, but most of the time I do not really enjoy those books. This is why I also have mixed feelings about Normal People. It was a good book, but the story did not suck me in. However, at the same time, I couldn't stop reading most of the time. You see, I have very mixed feelings about this book.

For one, I liked the relationship and friendship between Connell and Marianne. No matter their downs and disagreements, they always found their way into each other's lives again. I was rooting for them! This is why I am not super fond of the rather open ending of this book. I want them both to be happy. Connell's mother is such a wholesome person. I adore her. She is a wonderful human being. One thing that bothers me is the big time jumps from one chapter to the next. I felt like I missed several aspects of the story that would have made it deeper. But then the book itself was already very deep and sometimes heavy to read. Some chapters exhausted me. And let's not forget the absence of quotation marks! This annoyed me the most as it makes understanding the text much more difficult. A big no from me for the absence of quotation marks.

All in all, I liked the book. I see why others love it so much, but I still have mixed feelings about it. Sally Rooney is a good writer, but probably just not my cup of tea. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Blood, and Bullying

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Classism, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Death, and Grief

Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Drug use

aegireads's review

sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i liked this but it's like a perfectly usual book. idk why people are so weird. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, and Classism

angryoppossum's review

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Spoiler

disappointed in the ending, just marianne giving up and being like “he probably won’t come back” like girl stop omg

Spoiler

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

Minor: Death of parent